Why Have Masks Become So Important In Our Everyday Lives

"Masks?", you say. "What, are we going to a ball, are we preparing for Halloween?"

No, I am talking about the masks we women wear in our everyday lives.

The masks we wear when we attend a church service.  We may silently say, "Oh dear, please don't let someone see I am not perfect, that I yelled at my daughter because she wasn't on my time line this morning to get out the door." or "Please don't let someone see that I am truly hurting on the inside, I just want to attend service and go home so I can "wallow" in my misery."

The masks we wear when we attend a family gathering. We may silently say, "Please, oh please, don't let me say something that will cause an argument or that will cause someone else to hurt, let me keep my silence up for the sake of supposed peace." or "Let's not talk about what happened all those years ago, no need to bring all that hurt and pain up to the surface, plus we don't want littles to over-hear and start asking questions, it is best to keep them in the dark."

The masks we wear when we attend a school function or parent teacher conference.  We may silently say, "I need to make sure I wear the right clothes, I don't want the other parents to see how much we are struggling financially." or "I need to make sure that I speak the right way to the teacher, I don't want her thinking I am less than, I don't want her knowing that I don't have any education beyond High School."

Or many other masks you can think of.  In reality, we wear masks all the time and for every situation that makes us uncomfortable.

You see, all these masks hide what we truly think and feel on the inside.  Wearing these masks may allow us to get through something we find difficult but in the end, these masks make us feel even worse.  We allow our minds to believe these lies we tell ourselves that we need to mask who we really are.

I know, I have believed, still believe these masks are necessary to survive everyday life.

But my outlook is starting to change.  In my quest to find my voice, I have learned that it is necessary to take down those masks.  We need to show our true selves.  We need to allow Jehovah to shine through those cracks in our masks and allow Him to crash completely through. A section in Jo Ann Fore's book When A Woman Finds Her Voice talks about the masks we wear and why.  It helped me realize that I wear masks everyday and in every situation.  Whether it be for self-preservation or to hide my true self because I feel inferior.  I am finding that what we are hiding is the very thing Jehovah wants us show.  What He wants the world to know about us.  The true, deep down, scared and hurt women we are.  So as to allow Him to shine through us so that others can see His Glory.

Please click on the picture above to read Jo Ann Fore's blog post about masks and at the bottom of her post follow all the other amazing women as they tell their stories about the masks they wear and why.

Today I challenge you to let Jehovah crash through the masks you wear and have a blessed day!